November 2015 Greetings from State Regent Sandy Swallow
Hello to you all!
Well Halloween has come and our time change has occurred. The leaves have changed and not many are
left now as we have had rain and winds.
The Celebrating America! Cruise arrived in Bar Harbor, October 14th, to a beautiful fall day for all to enjoy.
My mother and I went up the day before and drove through rainy weather. I was so hoping the day would
be good and the people on the cruise would be able to enjoy the Maine fall colors. They did and all had a
great time from what I have heard. I have received a few thank-you notes, one being from the President
General. They were so happy to see Maine Daughters greeting them as they got off the boat. I had a Welcome banner from Maine Daughters and Liz Hotchkiss helped tie it up to a fence. The Mount Desert Isle
Chapter had their banner and several members there to help greet. Ann Thomas from Koussinoc Chapter
was there also. We all had fun and many pictures were taken.
(L-R: Kerry Zimmerman—MDI Chapter; Barbara Healy—Fort Halifax Chapter; Sandy Swallow—State Regent; Lynn
Young—President General; Ann Thomas—Koussinoc Chapter; Ada Hatch—MDI; Kay Tracy Moore - MDI Chapter;
Norma Spurling—MDI Chapter; Liz Hotchkiss—Majabigwaduce Chapter.)
I attended the Connecticut State Fall Meeting, October 22-24, and had a very nice time there. It is always
nice to see what other states do at their meetings. It was a long drive but the weather was good so I didn’t
have to worry about that.
Here is a picture of the guests April Staley had at the meeting.
(L-R: Martha Crapser – NY State Regent; Zadeea Harris – VP General & National Chairman of Membership; Jennie
Rehnberg – Curator General; April Staley – CT State Regent; Sharon Withers – Registrar General; Sandy Swallow – ME
State Regent; Susan Thomas – TN State Regent)
This past Friday & Saturday I was in Marlborough, MA to attend DAR Day at Hillside School. Three NE
State Regents had a meeting with Rich Meyer our DAR liaison. The boys sang for us and talked about their
iLab and what they are able to do there. That is where they work with different technologies, building
drones, robots & coding programs for them. They have a few 3D printers that are fantastic. The knowledge
these boys can get there will be so beneficial to them in the future. They are competing in singing and in
these technologies and having fun doing it. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the school I encourage you to
do so and see what is there and what our support has done for them. I believe the iLab was due to DAR
members and their financial support.
(L-R: Carol Schwenk—RI State Regent; Jennie Rehnberg—Curator General; Gail Terry—MA State Regent; Sandy Swallow—ME State Regent)
At Hillside School the 9th graders are leading an initiative called Soles4Souls. They are collecting donations
of old shoes (they can be of any type and in any condition). These shoes will be given to those in need. Rich
says even shoes that are too worn out to be used can be donated as they will be recycled and made into new
shoes. The boys have been collecting shoes for about a month and it has been very successful. I didn’t find
out about this until right before I left so didn’t have time to collect any shoes. Please be aware that we can
start collecting shoes and these can be taken down to the next event at Hillside next year. So, plan on bringing shoes to the State Conference in April 2016 for Hillside School.
Here are some pictures on the shoe collection:
132 pairs of shoes were collected on Saturday
Justin Kinney – faculty coordinator
Noah Tidus class of ‘16—Student coordinator
The Heirloom Recipes & Remedies of MSODAR book is available now and I thank you for the orders received.
Some people did not so they will be available at the State Conference in April 2016. The book will be available at the Viles Arboretum in the near future, but it is not there yet. If you want to order more or have not put
your order in yet the instructions and order form are on MSODAR member’s only website. Send the orders to
Kathy Palmer, State Corresponding Secretary, as she is chairman of the State Regent’s Project. This is a great
Christmas present so think about that.
Don’t forget to fill out the State Credentials form for 2016 year of voting, State Conference, Fall Meeting and
any other meeting that might be held. This is important as the 2016 State Conference will be an important
meeting with the election of a new slate of officers for the 2016-2019 Administration. The updated form is on
the MSODAR member’s website.
The Chapter Master Report is now available on the National website in e-Membership. Remember if you need
assistance with the Chapter Master Report (Master Questionnaire and Chapter Achievement Award) don’t hesitate to ask before the due date of February 1, 2016.
The guidelines/checklist for the Chapter Achievement Award was placed in the Regents’ boxes at Summer
Meeting and is available on the MSODAR Members’ only website. Look in Categories and under Chapter
Achievement Award and you will find the 2015 planning guide. So you can be working on the information
you have for that and be ready to input it.
Don’t forget to also enter your Celebrate America! hours of service online tally. Maine has done well to show
National how we work in our communities and get the word out about DAR. Keep up the good work and lets
show them how we can increase our hours.
Again I can always use help with articles for the spring issue of the Swallow’s Nest. Article deadline is February 5, 2016.
One last request. I am looking for some to be the Guardian Trust Campaign Chairman for Maine. If anyone is
interested please let me know and I can fill them in. National has requested this chairman be filled.
Dates to Remember:
November is American Indian Month.
December 1, 2015 – Deadline for National & State Dues, Chapter Treasurer’s Report
February 1, 2016 – State Credentials Deadline; State Achievement Test Deadline, Chapter Master Report
(MQ & CAA) Deadline
February 5, 2016 – Newsletter article deadline.
March 1, 2016 - State Officers, State Chairman & Chapter Regent’s Reports are due.
April 1-3, 2016 – State Conference – Hilton Garden Inn - Auburn
Celebrate America!
Sandy